Door-operating mechanism.



G. W. BASHAW. W. 0. COOK & P. U. WITHROW. DOOR OPERATING MECHANISM. APPLICATION rum) JULY 12,1912

Patented July 8, 1913.

Jail/11W [a ImfenTfirs yv' lfiisses; QM/41 i QFFIOE GEORGE w. nesnr 'mwrm mvr 0-. eooK, AND PAUL c. wi'rim owg OF DENVER,

COLORADO.

* boeeernmmjms @m E H NIsM To, all whom it may concern." Z

certain new and. useful Improvement in Door-Operating, Mecl anisn i ,,;of which the following .isa description; reference being had to the nccompnnying drawing; which forms a part of our specification.

Our invention relates to an improvement in door operating mechanism which is more espec ally. intendedjfor use. in connection with the'doors of locomotive fire-boxes.

The object of our invention is the pro- I vision ofmeans, adapted to benianually operated, whereby the doors, arranged toslid'e or move substantially parallel with the wall of the firebox, may be easily and quickly operated and-which will allow the doors to nutoinatically move to closed position wit h outfhowever; permitting them to come t.0-. gether with 3 jar ormateriz l striking force. A; further object of .the' invention I is to i provide a constructiph wherein the doorsecllustrates our ,tions will be substantially in balance when in closed position, a shifting leverage is pro' vided whereby the desired-power .will be oh- I tained" at the initial 'pqint ofthe'lopening "operation without g re'et exerti'onon' the part,

of the operator-and without much foo-t travel or movementnn thejpgi'rt ;of the op-i erator, and wherein the-doors and mechanism will be shifted to au in ailencedpos'ition so as toinduce a. qniclr nre oiffthevdqors as soon as the mechan sm tie in I 'th e ng ise e inventionin elevationxaslthe would be applied to the Wall Of a fifer hQx- F ig. 2 is aside elevation Showing the-inventiq applied to the well of afirerbox t-hellatter being ShQWuin sectionf F ig. 3 is a fra'gnentaxy sectional vievvtekfln on the line v In the exemplifientionpf .our invention,

5 representsa portion of the water-jacket of a fire-box provided with the usual opening 5 extending therethropgh for the purpose of introducing fuel into-the tire-box. The wall of the fire-box preferably pre- Sgecifleetion of Letters Patent Appli cetion'filed itu 1; i913. seri rno. 703,975.

' Patented July St 1913.

'vided with a. fr;ime qr ring-.37 secured gbout he Op n n 6 i any suitable .mem th' fram n i b ng understood; is mgdfi so as not to interfere with or restrict the opening into the fire-bolev Secured to the frg nie or ring 7 and t. pL-i.

positefsides of the ffirerbox opening, vare a, pa r of vertically extending guides or slide- 'iwnys 8 end 9, 'wliicl-i may be properly s e' cured to the flame or ring 7 or tothe wall of the firebox asdesired. The vertically extending nienzbers 8. and 9 are intended to form slideways for the door-sections or.

rnenibers .10 and 11; theiseetion 10 being 'e'dn'pted to 'niove upwardly "from the closed position shown in Fig. 1 lwhile'the section or member 11- 1s intended -tomove downwardly from .the position shown in Fig. 1,

when it is desired to open the doors or uncover the opening for the purpose of introduc ng the fuel. 4

, The vertical member 8 is preferably provided with theextended portion-or lolie 8 at its-upper end to which a lever 12 ispiv-z otzilly secured at '13; the :opposite end of lever 12 being pivot-ally secured to a. link 14 .WhiCliin turn is pivptally secured n t "lfi to the door Member or section 10.

The lowerendlofvertical member 8 is I I shown provided withan extensionorlobe '8? to which a lever 16 is pi smuy secured at the point 17 the inner endnf lever 16 being piyotally secured to a link 18.whieh in turn is pivotally secured to the lower member orsection-ll at the point 19. lower end with a bracket 20, see Fig. 2, which may be "Shown. the upper end of rod 23 is slightly ll-set or bent 10 as to bring the upper or czilll end of the rod beneath the lever lZfiYS of vertical rnember8 is also shown provided I either made integral with orsuitably secured more clearly shown in Fig. 2. The cam 23 is shown provided with a heel or lug 23 preferably at. one side thereof which heel or lug extends into a similarly formed socket 5 in lever 12 so as to permit a rolling move mentof the cam or lever 12 without allowing the cam to slip away from proper workin'g position. Pivotally secured to'lever 12 p is a diagonal strut or rod 26; the upper end of rod 26 being shown bifurcated, see Fig. 2, sufliciently to allow the cam 23 to extend between as shown; The lower end of strut 26 is provided with a cam 27 which extends into the cam-socket 28 formed in the outer 16 end of lever '16, namely in the free or unconnected end of the lever extending from the side of the pivotal point 17 opposite to that on which the doors are located. The cam 27 is also preferz-ihly provided with a heel or 2" lug 29 which extends into a similarly formed depression in the bottom of the socket 28 at the end of the lever, so as to prevent the cam slipping from proper position during. the rolling movement of the cam.

In the operation of pur improved mechanism, foot lever or treadle 21 is depressed, thereby moving rod 23 upward, which in turn will move lever 12 upward and draw the upper door member or section 10 with it. 30'The cam 23 is preferably arcuated so that the portion or side provided with the heel or protruding portion 23 will normally be in contact with-lever 12, and as this point is considerably removed from the .pivotal 85 point 13, it is evident that less power need L be exerted at the initial point of opening the 'doors. As the lever 12 is moved. upward, and with.itdoor member or-section 10, the

:contactpoint between caih'23 and the lever l0 shifts or moves toward the pivotal point 13. By reason of the shifting or rolling contact between cam 23 and lever 12, instead of a fixed or constant relation, less upward movement of rod 23 is necessary and consequently less downward movement of the free end of, lever or treadle 21, is necessary, with the result that the operators foot need move a very short distance in practice, the lever or treadle: 21 being so formed that the heel or toe of the operator needionly be employed while the balance of the foot may remain on the deck of themgine thus maintaining the operators balance, which is' quite desirable during the rolling 66 or swaying movement of the locomotive. During the elevation of lever 12, diagonal strut or member 26 is moved upward therewith, thus relieving its downward pressure on the outer end of lever 16, allowing lever 68 16 together with the door-section or member 11 to move downwardly. The cam 27 at the lower end of diagonal member 26 is also I arcuated so that its innerp'end or side'will be in contact with lever 16 at a point in proximity. to the pivotal point 17 of lever quite 16 during the normal position of the parts, and, therefore, at the beginning of the opening operation, where a slight movement is effective. The continued upward movement of lever 12 and upper door-section 10, and therefore of diagonal strut or member 26, will shift or bring the outer end of cam 27 into contact with a point on the lever 16 farthest removed from the pivotal point 17 thereby increasing the leverage for strut 26 and causing the downwardpressure to be more'efl'ective when the door is to be closed. This moment of contact occurs when the door-sections have been moved or opened to their fullest extent; the moment of contact between what may be termed the outer 'end of cam 23 and lever 12 (naiillely' the point nearest the pivotal point 13) occurs at the same time. v It is evident from the construction therefore that the differential leverage resulting when the door-sections have been moved apart to their fullest extent will cause the upper door member or section 10 together with its lever 12 and strut 26 to overbalance the lower, door member or section 11 and its lever 16; With the outer end of cam 27 in engagement with a point on the free end of lev' 16, somewhat removed from its pivotal point 17, when the door sections have been opened to their fullest extent, the releasing of foot lever or treadle 21, which in turn releases the pres-.

sure of cam rod 23 on lever 12, will cause the combined weight of upper door-section 10, its lever 12, together with diagonal member or strut 26, to be brought to bear on the outer end of lever 16, causing the outer end of lever 16 to be pressed downward, thereby bringing the inner end of-lever 16and the door-section-ll upward to closed position. During the closing movement of the doorsections, the cam contact shifts or changes and permits the two door-sections to substantially balance each other, thereby maintaining them in closed position.

Where the downward movement of the lower door-section or member is not limited by reason of the deck of the engine, or for some other cause, the two door-sections are preferably made symmetrical and from thesame pattern. ,In such instance, the distancefrom pivotalpoint 13 to 26 on lever slightly longer than the distance from 17 to 18*, so that the two door-sections will practically be in balance when the sections are in closed position. As the'points 1'3, 26", and 14'? on the upper lever 12, and the points 17 and 1 18 on lower lever 16 are fixed, the distances between the points 13, 26", and 14, as well ,as the distance between 17 and 18 remain the same when the door-sections have been moved to open position; the distance 'between pivotal point 17 and the point of contact between cam 27, however, has rolled r shifted from the point 27 to the outer edge or point 27 of cam 2-7, whereby the two door-sections become unbalanced in favor of the upperdoor-section to such an extent that the advantage in leverage \vill induce a closing movement ofthedoor-section as soon as foot treadle or'lever 21 has been released.

Where the downward movement of the bottom door-section or member-ll is. restrict ed or limited by reason of the proximity of i the deck of the cab-to the fire-door, so that it would be impossible to secure'a complete opening of the door-sections if the-two sections were made symmetrical or of the same size and dimension, the door should be split below the center line of the fireb x opening so that the lower section or member is of i less vertical width-than the upper door-section or member, This necessitates the lower door-section to travel a less distance to entirely uncover thelower partiof the opening in the fire-box than would be the case Where the two sections are identical in width asshown in the" drawing; Where this; condition arises the pointF27 will have to :be

moved a somewhat gn'eater distance from the fulcrum point 17, in order toimpart a relative-greater travel'to the door-section or member than is imparted to the lower door-section 11. In a constructioniof this i kind the lower door-section or member-11 is Y also preferably made proportionately heaver than the top door-section or member 10 in order to compensate for the difference in size of the sections and the leverage made necessary'to induce the greater distance of travel or movement of the top doorvsection. '10. In a construction of this kind,-as well as in the one previously described, the door-; sections and arrangement of-le'verS-is-such that the two door-sections 'willbe very nearly sed position,- while the; sections to a complete balanced when in cl movement of the p opened pOSItIOIT will sufi'icieiitly unbalance I the sections infavor of the upper door-sec-. tioni, to cause the automaticclosing of thedoors when the operator releases the'treadleor foot lever 21. G w i It has been found in practice that if-a coiisti'uction were employed where the ovcr-balance of therloor-sections (that is in favor ofthe top door-section, in order to'indi'ice the closing of the doors) is a constant quantity, and not variable as in our improved (:OllSlIilCtlOD, it is imp rat-ticableto secure a foot pressure on the treadle or lever suliieicntlv light to mine within the capacity of the fireman or operator for frequentoperation. unless the length of the lever from its fulcrum point 22-to the free end thereof is greatly increased. By increasing the length of the lever or trcudle in thismunner necessitates a corresponding increase of travel of the free end of the foot-treadle orlever'; which makes the operation such that the fireman or operator is compelled to lift ;his

foota considerable distanceffrom thedeck of the engine, often causing him to lose his balance and hence increase his dan'ger during the jolti'ng or tossing about of ilh eiBIlgihe; 'VVithfou'r improved construction, however, Where thedoor sections 'areisubstantially' balanced inclosed positionpthat is the position from whichthe fireman muststart Y the opening movement, he is enabled to im-;

part a sudden velocity at the-initial-point of movement by the lever 12, idiie' to. the calm" construction 'of rod23 as previouslyfld'escribed. 1 The velocity, thus impartediat the initial pointof operation;'is sulficient' to carry the doors to a complete open position without; however. increasing the foot pre's-i sure; and "when the doors reach the open osition, the-outer edge" or endiof nearest pivoial point 13, will be with e/the foot. lever oi will have "reach d its lowest point o-fftrai'el,

ans

parallel with. orfon-;, the;deck o-f-t-h a whena considerable portion of he firem weight will be resting on the .lever, without requiring exertion of ener y on the part of position. It has been found desirable in practice to bring the outer edge of;the cani 23 as near thepivotal point 13. andvwith as little distaiic'efnorfnally between the workihg surfaces of the-cam. and the lever. as is possible, so that the foot travel or' novenient ofthe free endof the footlever2l will be as littleas possible, thus permitting of the operation of the foot lever or t readle by the toeor'heel of the operatorwithoutthe necessity of raising his entire- 'footiromthe engine tleck. F urthermor qin order toin-, sure-the proper working of'theudoonsections, and so that the pulling actionofthe levers will be exerted as near the verticalaxes f the sections as possible'throughout In order to maintain the doors in position. when it is desired to clean out" e fire-box or for any other reason, wepro die the pawl 30, pivotal'ly secured to gt-iide -fl at apoint above tlienornial position of theupper door-section 10. so that it m ayengage in the notch 31 with which door-section 10 is providerlf It is evident that when the door-sections are nioved to open position, the

. 9,0 which may be arranged to be su'bst ally Q 9 5 the fireman tomaintain t e doorsin-open its and having a shifting'engagement with theconnected with Qlfe' upper door-section. and havingjgrolling {engagement with the free a 1 ,oee

free end of the pawl 30 may be moved into thenotch 31 and maintain the door-sections open.

We have shown and described what we be lieve to be the simplest and best form of our invention, wherein an overbalanced condi ticn is obtained after the door-sections have been separated or moved to open position, sufficient to overcome any friction of the working parts as well as that caused by the pull of the fire-draft to induce the closing movement of the sections; but the construction may be varied in certain details without, however, departing from the 'spirit of the invention.

W hat we claim is r 1. Door operating mechanism, comprising an upper and a lower door-section arranged to move vertically in opposite directions, a lever for'each door section, each lever pivotally secured at one end to one ofthe door sections and provided with a fixed fulcrum near the other end, the. fulcrum pointofthe lever secured to the lower door-section being arranged intermediate of the ends, a member pivotally secured to the lever of the upper door-section and having shifting engage ment with the free end of the lever of the lower door-section, said member, levers, and door-sections being so arranged that a substantially balanced condition is-maintained when the sections are in closed position, and means adapted to engage with the lever of the upper door-section whereby the door sections are moved to open position and an unbalanced conditionobtained whereby auto- -matic closing of the door-sections is induced.

, 2. Door operating mechanism, comprising a pair of door sections arranged to move in opposite directions, a lever for each door sect'ron, each lever pivotally 'secured atone end to one of the door sections and provided with a fixed fulcrum near the other end, a foot-lever, a slidably mounted member adapted to be controlled bysaid footlever and having a moving engagement with one of said first mentioned levers, and a sec ondmember pivotally secured to said lever other of said pair of levers whereby the door-sections are placed in an overbalanced condition and closure thereof automatically induced.

3. Mechanism'of the class described, comprising a pair of vertically movablerdoorsections, a lever foreach door section, each lever being flexibly connected at .on'eend to one of the door sectionsand provided wifih t e fixed fulcrum of the lever secured-to he lower door-section being arranged diate 'of the lever ends, a diagonally ar-' ranged member pivotally secured to the lever end of the lever connected with the lower door-section, and means having shifting engagement with the lever connected to the upper door-section whereby both door-sections are moved to open position.

4. Door operating mechanism, comprising a pair of vertically movable door-sections, a lever for each door section, each lever being flexibly connected at one end to one of the door sections and provided with a fixed fulcrum near t-he'other end, the fulcrum point of the lever secured to the lower door-section being arranged intermediate of the ends of said lever, means pivotally secured to the lever of the upper door-section and having shifting contact with the lever secured to the lower door-section whereby the position of the upper door-section controls the position of the lower door-section, and means in shifting engagement'with the lever of the upper door-section whereby the door-sections are moved to open position and an overbalanced relation in favor of the upper door-section is induced.

5. Mechanism of the class described, comprising an upper and a lower door-section adapted to move vertically in opposite directions and arran ed; to be substantially in balance when inc osed position, means flexi bly connected to each door-section and provided with fixed fulcrum points, and means operatively engaging with the first men tioned means whereby the door-sections are separated, a portion oithe last mentioned means shiftedfrom its normal engaging positionin the first mentioned means and an unbalanced relation between the door-sections obtained whereby. the automatic 51051.

ing of. the sections induced.

6. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a pair ofvertically movable door sections, a lever for each door section, each lever flexibly connected at one end to one of the door sections, and provided with a fixed fulcrum near the other end, with the fulcrum of the lower lever being arranged intermediate of its ends, a member pivotally secured to the lever connected with the up per door-section, a cam secured to the lower end of said member and having shifting e'ngagement with the free end of the lever connected with the lower door-section, and

b means having shifting contact with the lever connected with the upper door-section whereby both door-sections are moved to open position and an unbalanced condition of the door-sections induced. I

7. Mechanism of the class described, com} prising a pair: of vertically movable doorseetions, a lever fot; each door sect1o'n,--each lever flexibly connected atonerend to one of the door sections, and provided lwitha fixed fulcrum near the other end, withthe fulcrum of the lower lever being arranged I 1 :intermediate of its ends, ajzmember pivotallvg-l g z secured to the lever connected with the upher being provided with a cam portion having rolling engagement with the free endoi the lever connected with the lower door- .section, means whereby the'operative relation between the cam portion and the free end, ofthe lever is mainta ned, and means having shifting engagement with the lever le\ er aii'dfinrocking engagement withjthe lower. levereand means having operative en- I gagement with the upper lever, the engagement of said meanslbeing adapted to shift toward the fulcrum point of the upper lever during upward movement of the lever and lower lever, in combination with a pair of door-sections" with which said opposite ends ,to move in vertical directions and having fulcrum points arranged at unequal, distances from the opposite ends of each lever,

a cam-rod pivotally secured to the upper,

lever and in rocking engagement with the lower lever, and a vertically movable 'member adapted to have a rocking contact with said upper lever whereby the levers are operated .and the engagement between. the member and upper lever shifted toward the fulcrum point of the latter, in combination with a pair of door-sections with which said opposite ends of the" two levers are flexibly connected.

l0. Mechanism of the class described, comprising a pair of pivotal-1y mounted levers arranged one above the other so as to swing in opposite vertical directions, and means whereby said levers may be simultaneously controlled, :1 portion of'said means having operative relation with both levers but on opposite sides of the respective pivotal toward and away from the pivotal point of the. upper lever during operation, in com- 1 bination with a pair of door-sections with per door section, the lower end of said mem' which the long armof each of said i levers is flexibly connected. 7

11. Mechanism of-the class described, com prising a pair of fulcrumedlevers arranged the one above the .other so asnto swingin opposite vertical dire'ctions, means whereby said levers may simultaneously con.- trolled, a portion.of saidj mans having operative relation with"-botl1 j, levers but on opposite sides of the -re spective fulcrum pointsof said levers, thefjrelation be tween said portion of the means-undthe, lower lever adapted to move toward and away from the fulcrum :point of said flever; during operation andinduce a differential" pair of V leverage, while the other portion of vsaid means has operativerelat-ion' with. the upper lever, saidl-relation being'ada-Dted toshift toward andawa'y from the fulcrum-point of the'upper lever during operation, and means whereby operative 1 relations between both portions of saidfirst mentioned means and'the respective levers is-maintained, in combination with a pair of-door-sections with which the long-armof feach (ofsaid pair of levers is flexibly connected. 7

12. Mechanism of the. 'clas described,-.comprising a panof le vers arranged one above "the other and pivotally secured so asto swing in opposite-directions,=the gpivotal point (if the lower lever beingintermediate of the ends thereof, the short arm of said lever being provided "withv a cam-sockea a rod ivotally'seoured tothe upper lever and provided Wlth a cam at itslower end eh gaging in said cam-so'cket, .a' foot needle,

and a vertically jmovable-rod intermediate of the .treadle and the. upper lover of said pair of levers, the rod having a, shiftingoperative engagement with said lever, in

combination with an upper and a lower door-section, and means intermediate oi; the levers and the door-sections whereby the power of'the levers will be exerted substan- 11o tially at the vertical axes of said sections.

13. In combination with a pair of doorsections arranged one above the other and substantially in balance While in closed po sition, a'pair of 'leverswhose respective fulcrum-points are arranged above and below the normal position'of said sections, the fulcrum point of the one lever being arranged Y intermediate of the ends of said lever, the long arm of'eachlever being secured to one of said door-sections, a member secured to the long arm of one of said pa of levers :and in shiftin engagement with the short arm of the ot er of said pair of levers, a push rod having shifting engagement with the'l'ever to which said member is secured, and a foot treadle operatively engaging said push rod whereby the latter is moved vertically and the upper door-section with its lever and said member are moved into un- 1 balanced relation with the lower door-section and the lever secured thereto.

14. In combination with a pair of doprsections arranged one above the other and substantially in balance whilelin closed position, a lever flexibly connected to each door-section, the lever secured to the upper door-section being fulcrumed at its opposite end while the lever secured to the lower door-section is fulcrumed ata point intermediate of its ends, a rod pivo'tally secured intermediate of the ends of the lever connected to the upper door section and having shifting engagementwith the short arm of the lower lever, the engagement between said rod and the short arm of said lever being adapted to move toward or away from the fulcrum point of the lower leverwhen the door-sections are moved to closed or open position respectively, a push rod slidably mounted and in shifting engagement with the upper, lever, the engagement of said rod with said lever shifting-toward the fulcrum point of the lever during the opening operation of the door sections, and a foot treadle operatively connected with said push rod.

15. Mechanism of the class described,eo mprising a pair of vertically movable doorsections, a lever for each door section, each lever being flexibly secured at' one 'end to one of the door sections and provided with a fixed fulcrum near the other end, with the 16. Door operating mechanism, comprising a pair of door sections.arrangedto move in opposite directions, a'lever for each door section, eachleyer connected at one end to one of the door sections, and provided with a fixed fulcrum-near the other end a foot lever mechanism having a shiftlng leverage engagement with one of said levers, and a member connecting the said mentioned pair of levers, whereby sufficient initial velocity is imparted to the door members to carry themwto the open position, and a-diminishing travel of the foot lever is'obtained a the opening movement progresses.

GEORGE'W. BASHAW. WILLIAM O COOK. PAUL C. WITHROWV. WVitnessesn- \V. J. TAPE, W. A; KANDOW.

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Washington, 11-0. I 

